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The Charity Commission for England and Wales, with a strong focus on regulatory matters, has issued an alert to large #charities warning them of upcoming legislation targeting fraud.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 aims to enhance transparency and prevent economic crime.

The ‘failure to prevent fraud offence’ will be implemented on 1 September 2025. after which organisations could be criminally liable if an ‘employee, agent, subsidiary, or other associated person, commits a fraud intending to benefit the organisation and the organisation didn't have reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place’. This is applicable regardless of intent or whether senior members of staff knew it was taking place. Organisations must now ensure they have adequate fraud prevention measures in place or face fines if convicted.

As part of its alert, the Charity Commission also advised that charities read its guidance about internal financial controls

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/internal-financial-controls-for-charities-cc8/internal-financial-controls-for-charities

Charity Commission worked closely with West Midlands Police to support investigation into individuals connected to Sikh Youth UK.

The Charity Commission yesterday welcomed the sentencing of Rajbinder Kaur and Khaldip Singh Lehal.

Rajbinder Kaur has been jailed for 2 years and 8 months after being convicted of money laundering and six counts of theft, amounting to £50,000. This followed her theft of money that had been donated to Sikh Youth UK.

Kaur was also found guilty of knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information to the Charity Commission, in an attempt to cover up the theft – as was her brother, Khaldip Singh Lehal.

Singh has been given a four-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, with 80 hours of unpaid work.

It is a significant step for individuals to be convicted for providing the Charity Commission with false or misleading information, under section 60 of the Charities Act 2011, and the sentences underline how seriously the courts take this crime.

The Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into funds held by, and raised in connection with, Sikh Youth UK in October 2018, after West Midlands Police passed on concerns relating to charitable funds raised in the name of the organisation.

The Commission provided crucial evidence to support the police in their investigation and provided written and oral evidence to the court which helped secure the convictions.

The Charity Commission has opened 603 investigations relating to fraud over the last year, its latest figures show.

It has also launched an additional 99 probes into charities hit by cybercrime issues.

The figures are for the period November 2023 and October 2024, which also reveal it received 264 serious incident reports relating to fraud.

To coincide with the release of these latest figures the regulator has announced it has published fresh guidance to protect charities from fraud and cyber-crime.

These replace the regulator’s previous guidance and are designed to be more concise and easier for trustees to use, it says. A shorter version has also been made available.

New guidance launched for charities on spotting and preventing fraud and cybercrime.

More than 600 cybercrime and fraud cases were reported to the Charity Commission in the last year.

Between November 2023 and October 2024, the Commission opened 603 cases relating to fraud and a further 99 cases relating to cyber crime issues.

This has led the Commission to launch new guidance, and a separate shorter guide on fraud. Developed with the support of the National Cyber Security Centre and their Small Charity Guide. It links to several free online training modules designed for charities of all sizes.

Two sisters who used a charity Gift Aid scam to steal almost £450,000 from the taxman while running Girl Guide groups have been jailed.

Sara and Jean Barnbrook defrauded the taxpayer out of hundreds of thousands of pounds by claiming repayments on non-existent donations over six years.

Leeds Crown Court heard Sara Barnbrook, 54, fraudulently claimed more than £482,000 in Gift Aid repayments – of which £446,000 was paid out.

Over the last few years, fraud has become an increasing area of concern for charities, with threats coming from both internal and external sources. The increased sophistication of cyber and digital fraud, cost of living pressures and political influences have all contributed to the rise in fraud attempts on charities.

Historically, charities often considered themselves immune from fraud attempts. However, recent high-profile instances, such as the British Library cyber attack, have challenged this assumption.

A former RSPCA trustee is accused of bankrolling more than £100,000 in hotel stays and taxi rides in a fraud on the animal charity’s money, a court has heard.

RSPCA trustee accused of fraud 'paid £100,000 for hotels and taxis from charity funds' (yahoo.com)

A former National Trust employee who defrauded the organisation out of more than £1million has today been jailed, after he appeared in Bristol Crown Court with his sons who laundered the proceeds of the fraud.

Ex-employee jailed after defrauding National Trust out of more than £1 million | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk)

Charity bosses conned into hiring agency workers who presented fake qualification certificates to gain work said they were shocked by the crime — and said their commitment to vulnerable users remains unwavering.

Carlisle Crown Court heard how Walsingham Support — which has offices in the city and in Workington — was the unwitting victim of fraud.

A former district treasurer of Shropshire's Scouting movement has admitted fraud and stealing £10,000 from the organisation.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/south-shropshire/2024/07/17/former-treasurer-admits-fraud-and-stealing-10000-from-shropshire-scouts/